Call Me Jim
by SylverSpyder
Summary: You would think, what with everything he went through as a child, Captain Kirk wouldn't go by Jim anymore. But maybe there's something worse than a violent Uncle and uncaring mother. Maybe being James brings back worse memories than Jim ever could: Tarsus
1. Chapter 1

**Don't own them. How disappointing.**

* * *

**Tarsus IV Fic Alert!  
**

**This will be a one-shot unless I get at least two reviews asking me to continue it.  
**

**If I do, this story will contain whump, badassery, angst, and sea monkeys. Or perhaps squirrel monkeys. Well actually, any kind of peculiar creature. Review and give me your recommendation and I'll incorporate it into the story.  
**

**p.s. forgive me for my short obsession with parentheses. I'm ADD and it was the easiest way to stay on track and still add those little tidbits that popped into my (_admittedly disturbing_) mind.  
**

* * *

**_PROLOGUE:_  
**

* * *

With the battle over and the Enterprise as back to normal as it can get after a ninja attack, (_well, actually, there was a ninja attack and then the ninjas left to protect their home planet from invading Klingon. Then the Enterprise turned around because no matter how cocky Kirk was, Spock wasn't going to let him go up against two fleets of Klingon war birds in an already compromised mission in the name of people who had tried to kill them. After that, there was the confusion of being captured by Orion traders and the disconcerting chaos of being saved by the territorial ninjas who had already marked the Enterprise as their prey. The boarding of the ship followed, leading to Kirk staging a rebellion to get his ship back and, against Spock's advise, launching a full frontal counter attack on the ninja's moon base. Kirk justifying all the while that it was one moon, and not two fleets of Klingon war birds. But all of that is part of a much different story..._) Kirk had beamed down with an away team to the ninja moon-base to clean up the remains of the battle.

It wasn't that he was being environmentally friendly, Jim mused as he gathered some shards of weaponry. He was just leaving the place better than he found it, as a habit. Not that anyone knew that he had been a boy scout.

That was one of the secrets he wouldn't spill even when he was too drunk to pronounce his own name or remember what language he was supposed to be speaking. Which is to say, any given school night in the past.

Still, that wasn't all he was hiding on the nights when he went to the bar with Bones to drink away memories and emerged with a hot blonde of indeterminable species (sometimes they just blur together)... He shook off the dark thought.

Cleaning up wasn't all he was doing here either. Horrible as it is to admit, he was a tourist, nix the fanny pack and knee socks (_If he was planning on wearing shorts and baring his legs, Kirk would only do so in style._). What Jim Kirk and a tourist have in common, besides the whole "boldly go where no man has gone before" (_ex: Saran Merizchek in his first year at the Academy_) motif is the fact that both the tourist and Jim would definitely embrace, the chance to get holos depicting for all to see that they really had been on the only known ninja moon base as of yet (I_f the universe is infinite, Kirk though, how many ninja-moons must there be waiting for exploration?_).

Kirk puzzled over this as he dug through the rubble until he heard a voice ring out over his comm unit.

"Come in, Captain. We have found a strange anomaly two kilometers south of your position."

Kirk felt himself grin. "Spock, have I ever told you that you sound like my girlfriend back in highschool?"

He could almost feel Spock's confusion radiating through the communicator.

"That is illogical, Captain, as my voice, while quite similar to a human's, possesses a distinct Vulcan accent, and unless you were dating a Vulcan woman with a voice that followed a distinctly male tonal range, an anomaly of which I calculate a .0034 percent chance of occurring in your endemic Iowa environment..."

Kirk smiled at Spock's ranting. Really, the man- er, Vulcan- never seemed to get a joke. It's why Kirk delighted in teasing him so much.

Suddenly Spock's voice (_with it's low tonal ranges extremely rare in Vulcan women_) was cut off by an extremely irate sounding Bones. "Jim, you better get over here- Shut up, you green-blooded hobgoblin!- we found... Well, you'll see."

Kirk frowned, a sick feeling suddenly growing in the pit of his stomach (G_ood thing he hadn't eaten anything or he would figure it was an allergic reaction. Bones always said that those would be the death of him. The bridge crew seemed to agree because there was always at least double up on allergies in the 'How Jim will Die' betting pool than even saving the Earth or offending an ambassador with a beautiful wife. Why, Kirk wondered, did the Ambassadors always get so lucky? Bones refused to bet, saying the pool was a morbid way to tempt fate. Pavel was the only one with dibs on old age. Spock 2 wasn't allowed to bet, the Vulcan jerk would clean out his crew with the whole 'I know your possible future' shit. _) as he glanced around the eerily familiar looking landscape of the ninja-moon thing. Something was going on. Something he didn't want to get involved in, but feared he already was.

* * *

Jim felt himself grow cold as he walked through the crumbling gates of the ruined city. Spock, Bones, and the rest of the away team were already there, waiting for him. They were clustered around a rotting corpse almost reduced to bones. The skeleton was small, crumpled on the ground, clutching the remains of a teddy bear in one hand.

The others were solemn as Jim approached.

"How long do you believe this cadaver-" Kirk winced "Has been here, Doctor?" Spock addressed Bones.

"I can't-" Bones began, but Kirk, kneeling next to the skeleton, interrupted him. "Eleven years, two months, and twenty-one days."

The others stared at him.

"It can't be," he whispered. "But I'm not mistaken. It's orbit must have intersected with the other planet's larger gravitational range..."

"What must have intersected with the other planet's larger gravitational range?"

Standing erect, his eyes scanning the desolate city in the middle of the barren, dead landscape, Kirk finally replied.

"This isn't a moon. This is Tarsus."


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't own them. How disappointing.**

* * *

**Tarsus IV Fic Alert!**

** This story will contain whump, badassery, angst, and sea monkeys. Or perhaps squirrel monkeys. Well actually, any kind of peculiar creature. Review and give me your recommendation and I'll incorporate it into the story.**

**p.s. forgive me for my short obsession with parentheses. I'm ADD and it was the easiest way to stay on track and still add those little tidbits that popped into my (****_admittedly disturbing_****) mind.**

p.p.s. Thank you to all of the followers and favoriters (that should definitely be a word). Those who reviewed I responded to on the bottom.

**...**

**_"I can't-" Bones began, but Kirk, kneeling next to the skeleton, interrupted him. "Eleven years, two months, and twenty-one days."_**

**_The others stared at him._**

**_"It can't be," he whispered. "But I'm not mistaken. It's orbit must have intersected with the other planet's larger gravitational range..."_**

**_"What must have intersected with the other planet's larger gravitational range?"_**

**_Standing erect, his eyes scanning the desolate city in the middle of the barren, dead landscape, Kirk finally replied._**

**_"This isn't a moon. This is Tarsus."_**

"Well, shit." Said Bones.

"Bones," Kirk gasped, "This may be awkward but, I think I might throw up on you."

….

Eleven Years, Four Months, and Two Days Earlier...

Okay, So James T. Kirk may have driven a car (_an antique car that belonged to his very much dead father and not to his unfortunately-living, very-much-not-father Uncle_) off of a cliff (_here he had corrected the officer. It was a gorge, sans the river_.). And yes, maybe that was not a sign of mental stability, despite the fact that he had carefully calculated his fall in a way so that he would not have died… Probably. Unfortunately for his Uncle.

In fact, if he hadn't been distracted by the officer in his ridiculous uniform (_seriously, who wears stuff like that? Is it really necessary?)_ he could have made the jump. Instead he had to abandon ship (_he hated those words. 'Abandon ship' was not just something you did. Especially if you were James T. Kirk, son of the infamous George Sacrifice-myself-to-save-my-pregnant-wife Kirk_. _Even if not abandoning ship meant leaving your newborn son in the hands of your workaholic wife's alcoholic brother, with a blood-alcohol level higher than his I.Q._).

So as he was taken by the officer, who thankfully didn't strip search him, but still neglected to provide his own name (_leaving James to call him Dwight, or possibly Ernest_) he hadn't decided what to expect.

The ride was nice. Or at least as nice as a one-sided conversation gets. Officer Ernest (_Harold, maybe?)_ didn't seem to have much of an opinion on the stock in Illinois. And he definitely didn't seem to take James' advice (_"Shrink eleven inches and lose the outfit. I've never met a woman who hasn't thought all of this," cue smirk and a glance over of his own prepubescent body "wasn't cute. It'll probably work better than the whole pleather-spandex look."_)to heart. Of course, taking the advice of a child who had just driven into a "gorge" may not always be the most sensible thing. Not that James didn't have a point…

When they reached the regional Starfleet control center (who decided metal meant modern? Metal meant cold and hard, and okay, shiny. It's not like he was naturally attracted to shiny objects… Ooooo…), James was in handcuffs before he dismounted the bike (_"If you really wanted me in handcuffs Officer, you could have just asked." Johnny would have given the girl a ten. James? A nine. Although she did get extra points for being armed. And the handcuffs. And possibly for the uniform. It was much better on creatures of the female variety_.).

Cheek still stinging, (_Ernest had almost sounded smug- "Apparently not EVERY female thinks it's cute_.") James waltzed along next to the latest edition of Starfleet commandos.

"Are we there yet?" He could play with the best of them, he thought, tugging on Officer Number Three's (_They really, really needed name tags. The place was crawling with them. It was like a kindergarten classroom without the cookies and naptime. At least as far as James could see there wasn't any napping going on in the sterile steel building. Who knew behind those masks?_) hand and fidgeting a little.

James was small for his age, with sandy blond hair and an innocent farm-boy look about him. At thirteen years old, he could have passed for ten, and his doe-like eyes were nearly irresistible.

"No."

Nearly irresistible.

…

The sick feeling in Kirk's stomach had grown.

"Tarsus?" Spock's eyebrows tilted even farther up his forehead. If Jim had had any breath to spare, he might have laughed, but at this point the world was swirling around him. He reached forward for something to steady himself, and winced as his hand brushed the bear, the rotting fabric crumbling at his touch. (_But the bear was on the ground, was he on the ground? No he wasn't the one on the ground. Someone else was on the ground. Someone important. He had to help them_.)

…

Eleven Years, three months, and Twenty Nine Days Earlier

Young James Kirk was sick to his stomach. It shouldn't have happened that way. If they just hadn't have fed him that 'foreign slop', maybe he wouldn't have gotten sick. Maybe he wouldn't have almost died. Maybe they wouldn't have seen the bruises.

He couldn't tell if the feeling was a residual effect of the allergic reaction, or if it was the knowledge that his life was crumbling all because he ate cafeteria food while incarcerated for driving an antique that was technically his into a gorge (_Although he had gained a certain satisfaction out of regurgitating said 'foreign slop' over Three and Ernest, he still regretted his decision. Everyone knows cafeteria food will kill you someday, and if you're James Kirk, that's especially likely_.).

He couldn't explain them all with the leap from the vehicle (_And technically he did not drive the car into a gorge, he mused, he drove it up to a gorge and the car's momentum carried it over after he was gone._), and apparently "clumsy" isn't an excuse for a fractured ulna, a bad shoulder, and three broken ribs, let alone the sprained ankle, dislocated pinkie, and mild concussion.

Overnight the thirteen year old had transitioned from perpetrator to victim. The genius son of the Starfleet's hero (_and his eleven year old cousin Johnny, who never seemed to get mentioned, something to do with having an abusive asshole for a father instead of a hari-kari performing Starfleet Captain_) was being abused by his Uncle as his mother gallivanted off on her five year exploratory mission of the Krandian spiral bar galaxy.

His car jacking was suddenly a "cry for help," as the innocent looking James became an instantaneous media darling.

…..

"Spock, your eyebrows have gone entirely vertical," Jim slurred with a quite chuckle.

"You are displaying actions that do not compute properly with what I know of you, James."

Kirk froze (_Actually, he was probably swaying like a latin dancer at that point, because his head felt funny, and for god's sake would someone stop shaking him! Bones was looking at him funny. Bones were looking at him funny. Dear lord, there were two of them! But one was dead and… Had he been drinking? The world was swirling funnily, more fun-like but not fun at all? funny-lee_?).

"Call me Jim." He said, and then the world went dark.

…

Eleven years, Three months, and Eleven Days

"This is your new home," The words were dreadfully final as James glanced around the barren landscape.

"You've been relocated to a foster home on this planet under assumed names until the time where Mrs. Kirk may return and resume her position of guardianship over James. In this manner, the media will be dissuaded from using your story as fodder." The bald official was glaring down his nose more pretentiously than James Kirk- Jimmy T. Gardner he corrected himself- had ever seen anyone accomplish. (_Why is it always the bald ones with the complexes? Jimmy wondered. This guy, Romulans, Uncle Frank, Santa- Self absorbed, violent, child abuser, child stalker…Suddenly the image of a klingon flashed through James- Jimmy's skull. Maybe it wasn't the amount of hair missing that determined the character, but the amount of forehead showing.)_

"Welcome to Tarsus IV."

Jimmy felt a clammy hand grab his, and glanced at Johnny. His eleven year old cousin may have been younger, but they were already standing eye to eye. Jimmy imagined he saw something (fear?) in Johnny's eyes. It could have been a number of other things. The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the facial expression is easier to read.

"So," Jimmy forced a smile (he had mastered his own facial expressions long ago), "This is Tarsus?"

….

Once more, the good doctor summed up the situation perfectly. "Well, shit."

….

**Reviewers Room (I know this is long, I just wanted to take this opportunity to finally respond to everyone.) -**

**Kyla **

so how many reviews for continuation do you need ?! - with mine I count 16 :-) that's 14 more than you wanted minimum... I'd love to know where you want to take this story (your teaser's awesome)

Dear Kyla,

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important update. Honestly, I had the next few chapters written out, and I can't find them, so once more I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I am so grateful for all of your support and I'm glad my teaser turned out so well. It's been an incredibly hard summer for me and I've mainly only posted up stuff that was already written. I'd love to know where I'm taking the story, too. I have an idea, and it's a little different, so if you all don't like it… well that'll suck for me. Right now I'm doing my best, and I will churn out another chapter as soon as possible. If it makes you feel better, think that your review is the one that finally pushed me over the edge, and it wasn't that I finally got a break to write in ;) Tata for now. If there's anything specific you want to see in this story, review or pm me.

SS

**Jess-Emrys-BLack **

Oh please continue writing this *give pathetic puppy eyes* pleeeeease!

Dear JEB,

Good Lord Girl! What a pen name! Not that I'm not loving the Merlin reference, but do you ever go by JEB, because just imagining typing that out whenever I want to talk to you… It would drive me crazy. So do you mind if I do? Or if I just call you Jess (Which, by the way, is a lovely name.) Just for you, I'm naming one of my characters Jeb now…. Done. You'll see it next chapter or the one after. And yes, there will be more. The puppy eyes have forced my hand to the keys.

SS

**Squeaky **

This is a great start to what could be a wonderful fanfic - please do it justice and continue! This is a pretty original take on the traditional "Jim was on Tarsus" fic.

Dear Squeaky,

I am original, totally and completely non-cloned genetic material. If I write anything that does venture into the world of the cliché, or ordinary, feel free to FLAME me. I will feel crappy and fix it right away. So original we got, wonderful? Well, I'll do my best. If I don't meet your standards, that's what editing and rewriting is for, my wonderful reviewer! Thank you so much, and here you are….

SS

**cflat **

Really great start. Hope you do continue; I really like fics where Kirk's Tarsus past is mentioned.

Dear cflat,

I must complement you on your patience my musically inclined friend, as I listen to my Pyotr Tchaikovsky and type. I am continuing, if maybe a bit belatedly. On another note, who does not like Tarsus fics? Really! It's about as good as GeniusJim and our little international Whumpathons.

SS

**Sherman and Company **

dude...sad shits about to go down.

I could not have said it better myself. Neither can Bones, although he did take a bit of a page from your book- SS

**Starlightscribe**

More Please...

I love this! I want to see Jim trying to hold it together in front of his confused and worried crew. I will love you forever if you include a scene of Jim remembering some sort of interaction with Hoshi Sato...

Dear Starlightscribe (the other SS),

Here's your more and the beginning of your worried crew, with a bit of patience you'll get the rest and I will be loved forever, as is my DUE! (Mwahahahahahaha)

There will be plenty of Whump, badass Jim, Jim trying to hold it together, Jim being incredibly smart/kind, Hoshi Sato, and SurpriseTalentsJim! All for you, m'dear.

SS

**AutumnDawn21 **

Curious, veeeeeery curious :)

First off, ninja moon. The very though just makes me giggle a little, which is always nice! I'm really wondering how Jim's gonna react now that he's found out it's Tarsus IV! Pleeeease continue!

Dear AutumnDawn21,

Ninja moons are definitely awesome. Coming up though, squirrel monkeys are even awesomer. And aardvarks. Gotta love them Aardvarks. ;)

SS

**May Eve **

MORE. PLEASE. SQUIRREL MONKEYS AND ANGST.

DEAR MAY EVE,

HERE'S MORE AND A DAB OF ANGST. I'LL THROW IN SOME SQUIRREL MONKEYS AND WE'LL CALL IT A DEAL.

SS

**Tahiri Veila Solo **

An interesting start. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this...

Dear Tahiri Veila Solo,

Honestly, so am I. I've been thinking about going Left, but that wouldn't have been Right.

Thanks! SS

**Deanaholic1 **

Oooo this is good! I hope u update soon!:)

Dear Deanaholic1,

I am so sorry to disappoint you on one half of your review, hopefully I did slightly better on the other. We'll see. Well you will. I'm biased, so I have no clue. I'm trusting all of my lovely reviewers to inform me of my copious shortcomings… ;) (I love violin music.)

SS

**ljbookworm **

Please please continue this. You can't just leave it as a cliffhanger! I want to know what happens next! I want to hear the ugly truth about Tarsus come spilling out! Please continue it? Pretty please?

Dear ljbookworm,

The ugly truth from a handsome mouth is coming. It is to be continued!

SS

**Snowy midnight 942 **

please continue this story. It is a worthy piece to continue.

Dear Snowy midnight 942,

THANK YOU! I felt like a jedi master addressing me and telling me I was a worthy padiwan and my heart skipped a beat and yes I am both a Trekkie and a Star Wars fan, and I both twist and dunk my oreos.

SS

**An Expression of Wisdom**

okay so this is a story that you have to continue because it is merely a teaser. There is no indication of how Jim knows it is Tarsus and there is no reaction described either from the crew to Jim's proclamation or Jim's reaction to encountering these memories, also no explanation for how a ninja base suddenly turns into a humanitarian disaster. If you don't continue I'll be very disappointed and I believe you should change your summary.

Dear An Expression of Wisdom,

I love your name, if you hadn't in fact, originally misspelled 'proclamation,' I would ask if you originated from a Vulcan blood line.

SS

p.s. No need to be disappointed, I have an update here for you, dubious grammar and all.

**Spinal Cracker**

More, more...I love cliffies...But I love whump more!

Bet this could be fun, so I'll alert & wait hopefully!

Dear Spinal Cracker,

A message has come in from Starfleet command. There will be more whump. And cliffies. End transmission.

SS

**susananadana**

and here's #3 and your over the top,I love angst and wumping and occasional spanking,ardvarks are cool too.I love Tarsus fics,I can't get for more,great start !

Dear susanadana,

I'm not much of an adult spanking type, but I'm all for whump and aardvarks. This is my first Star Trek fic, so you'll have to bear with me, but Tarsus fics are my favorite, too.

SS

**bee **

here's your second review...;) hope this means you'll continue this, because:

- love this first chapter setup

- love your version of jim so far

- love your writing style

please, please, continue this... i really want to read about angst and badassery (and more about jim's thoughts)!

(also, i'm a huge fan of parentheses myself, especially the way you've used them... keep using them!)

/love, bee

Dear Bee,

I'll try to be the best I can be. You are my second review and I'll have you know I jumped up and down when I read this (and there went my coffee, my lovely frappucino…) Thank you for all all of the love, I'll try to make it worth your reading. There will be tons of badassery. (…And tons of parentheses) and Angst and Secret Skillage, one of my other favorite things.

SS

**Majorbookluver**

Oh my gosh! This is awesome! I love your writing style. Please continue!

Dear Majorbookluver,

Thank you! This chapter may not be as good as the teaser, but more than the teaser, this has to set the stage for the whole story. And there aren't ninja's in Iowa. At least, not yet…. Hopefully this worked for you and compensated you a bit for your overwhelming patience. It will be continued, too.

SS

.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't own them. How disappointing.**

**It's short, I know. I apologize!  
**

* * *

**Tarsus IV Fic Alert!**

** This story will contain whump, badassery, angst, and sea monkeys. Or perhaps squirrel monkeys. Well actually, any kind of peculiar creature. Review and give me your recommendation and I'll incorporate it into the story.**

**p.s. forgive me for my short obsession with parentheses. I'm ADD and it was the easiest way to stay on track and still add those little tidbits that popped into my (****_admittedly disturbing_****) mind. One thing I will say here: It was a TEDDY BEAR. Someone missed that and asked me why the bear hadn't been dragged off by scavengers (Not that it wouldn't be just as dead if it were a bear...)  
**

p.p.s. Thank you to all of the followers and favoriters (that should definitely be a word). Those who reviewed I will respond to personally on my own since otherwise this chapter will be about ten thousand words long...

**...**

**"Spock, your eyebrows have gone entirely vertical," Jim slurred with a quiet chuckle.**

**"You are displaying actions that do not compute properly with what I know of you, James."**

**Kirk froze (_Actually, he was probably swaying like a latin dancer at that point, because his head felt funny, and for god's sake would someone stop shaking him! Bones was looking at him funny. Bones were looking at him funny. Dear lord, there were two of them! But one was dead and… Had he been drinking? The world was swirling funnily, more fun-like but not fun at all? funny-lee_?).**

**"Call me Jim." He said, and then the world went dark.**

**…**

**Eleven years, Three months, and Eleven Days**

**"This is your new home," The words were dreadfully final as James glanced around the barren landscape.**

**"You've been relocated to a foster home on this planet under assumed names until the time where Mrs. Kirk may return and resume her position of guardianship over James. In this manner, the media will be dissuaded from using your story as fodder." The bald official was glaring down his nose more pretentiously than James Kirk- Jimmy T. Gardner he corrected himself- had ever seen anyone accomplish. (_Why is it always the bald ones with the complexes? Jimmy wondered. This guy, Romulans, Uncle Frank, Santa- Self absorbed, violent, child abuser, child stalker…Suddenly the image of a klingon flashed through James- Jimmy's skull. Maybe it wasn't the amount of hair missing that determined the character, but the amount of forehead showing.)_**

**"Welcome to Tarsus IV."**

**Jimmy felt a clammy hand grab his, and glanced at Johnny. His eleven year old cousin may have been younger, but they were already standing eye to eye. Jimmy imagined he saw something (fear?) in Johnny's eyes. It could have been a number of other things. The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the facial expression is easier to read.**

**"So," Jimmy forced a smile (he had mastered his own facial expressions long ago), "This is Tarsus?"**

**….**

**Once more, the good doctor summed up the situation perfectly. "Well, shit."**

There was a flurry of movement as Bones and Spock knelt beside their fallen Captain.

"If you insist upon using vulgar language when we converse, I shall join you in your endeavor." As Spock rolled Kirk so his head rested on the man's knees and checked his pulse, his forehead knitted in concentration (_his eyebrows were now so convoluted that they looked like thin twin caterpillars weaving across his forehead_). "I believe the terminology I am searching for is 'What in the fuck was that?'" _It's slow,_ Spock thought worriedly as he checked the captain's pulse. He paused and shrugged his shoulders. _Then again, most human things are._

It was Bones' turn for his eyebrows to shoot up at impossible distances as he searched his bag for his tricorder, holding back a laugh.

"Not quite, Spock... Dammit." He pricked his finger on the Starfleet comm pin that Kirk had come up with.

"I am unfamiliar with the complexities of human vulgarities, however from various observations of human behavior I have recorded no instances of vocalization reminiscent of 'What in the "dammit" was that?', Doctor."

Bones grabbed the tricorder with a huff (_why is it that whenever you need to find something it's always at the bottom of the heap? Chances are, that needle you want is probably at the bottom of the hay stack. Then again, the needle is smaller and heavier that hay, so it makes sense for it to be on the bottom_), and moved over to Jim, worry lines growing around his mouth as he observed the captain.

"Not you, you green-blooded hobgoblin! Make yourself useful and call ahead to the medical bay while I scan him." Bones' eyes grew dark with apprehension as he peered at Jim's non-responsive pupils and examined the tricorder's readings.

"It appeared to me that the Captain's reaction was the result of syncoping, the partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of himself and his surroundings caused by a momentary lapse of blood oxygenation necessary to feed his brain, the effect of a situation similar to what is standard in post traumatic stress disorder patients experiencing a panic attack," Spock said calmly.

Bones' head rose as a growl emitted from the back of his throat. Caustic words laced with venom poured out of him. "James Tiberius Kirk does not just 'get emotional and faint'!" He exclaimed.

The tricorder beeped. Bones paled. "Get medical bay set." He barked. "Were you aware the captain was injured?" he hissed at Spock.

"I assumed he was of physically capable, although now I see I erred as the Captain has a ninety three percent injury occurrence rate after any confrontation. Logically, there was a good probability that he has sustained some form of injury."

"Injuries," Bone spoke. "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a mind reader! Of course you're injured!"

Concentrating on his patient, he almost didn't hear Spock say "Beaming up" or notice the sudden pandemonium as he and an unconscious Jim Kirk were beamed onto the transporter pad. At the moment he wasn't remembering Jim's ominous words "This is Tarsus." All he could think of were the tricorder readings and wonder how in the world Kirk had gotten Andorian shingles and why there was a broken off stiletto heel in his side. And internal bleeding? Bruised kidney? claw marks (_That definitely weren't from where Jim usually got them. Which was too bad. Those ninja chicks were pretty easy on the eyes. On the other hand, Jim had never been much for the whole Black Widow thing- which may or may not have something to do with the stiletto heel in his side..._)? Only Jim.

(..._Then there were the thirteen shurikens. Bones had always thought Starfleet shirts were too tight to smuggle weaponry. The scythe he had just thrown to the side had seemed to contradict that. Why couldn't Jim be happy shooting people. They were just as dead whether killed by a phaser or... my God! Were those nunchucks? He was going to have to have a conversation with Sulu, he realized as he pulled out a retractable blade._)

The nurses bundled Jim onto the gurney (_seeming all too eager to examine his injuries, of course. Now, Jim was no stranger to having his clothes ripped off, but the fact that Chaplan was joined in her mission by Thomas, the new medical officer... Let's just say it's a good thing Kirk wasn't conscious. Both good and very, very bad._) and rushed him towards the med-bay, leaving a puzzled Spock behind.

As they were boarding the lift, Spock heard the tell-tale sounds of an awakening Jim Kirk (_That would be laughter, distressed calls, and an undertone of sexual tension. Then again, that wasn't just present when Jim was awake. Even an unconscious Captain Kirk had been known to create some interesting situations. Sometimes especially an unconscious Jim Kirk._).

...

"Well," Jim slurred at the two blurry figures looming above him, "Musta been a hell of a party. I normally don't do threesomes." _('Cept for Spring Break the year before graduation. And that was an exception to most things, including his prejudice against admirals. Mostly because- as it turns out- female admirals, though a rare species, are not yet extinct. It was also the start of some things, such as an intense hatred for sea monkeys._). A new face- Bones, his mind supplied- intruded on his field of vision. Kirk sat up- or tried to. "Bones?!" He yelped. "Not you, too?" (_Bones had helped him burn the pictures from that Spring Break. They had subsequently set off the fire alarms and finished Spring Break off with a wet T-shirt contest of school-wide proportions. Those pictures Kirk had kept._)

Bones didn't reply. His face seemed oddly grim. (_Oddly grim? Kirk remembered the first time they met: "I might throw up on you." Bones was always grim. It was his cynicism that made him so wonderfully refreshing to Jim. When he told Bones he got the Enterprise back, Bones didn't congratulate him at first. No... Bones greeted the news with a groan. "Guess this means you're dragging me back to that godforsaken wasteland again?" Kirk had grinned. "You could always stay here." They both knew the offer was pointless. "Course not, you damn fool. Who else is going to keep you from killing yourself?" Bones didn't know how true that was._)

A distantly familiar nervous laugh echoed above him. It wasn't Bones. It was someone else. (_So many people! This must have been even worse than Spring Break. Jim shuddered_.) Someone from the past.

"Calm down, J.T.!" The voice was near panicked.

Kirk froze as it all rushed back: The enterprise, the ninjas, **Tarsus... **"Call me Jim!" He growled, and he was out again.

Thomas Leighton, a doctor now, stared down at the face flushed with fever, the strong jaw, and the half-lidded blue eyes always filled with a dark, calculating amusement, as if he was laughing at the world. Thomas brushed the patient's hair back as he flashed back to the one time he saw those eyes empty, the one time he saw those eyes as dead as the boy they belonged to...

Thomas, who was once Tom but never would be again, understood the words more than anyone could guess.

_"Call me Jim."_

But Jim would always be J.T. to Thomas. Always.

...


End file.
